Until Death Do Us Part
by Malison6
Summary: Booth and Bones are finally together, but an armed gunman breaks into the lab and kills Bones. Now it's up to Booth to figure out what and why this happens.
1. Until Death Do Us Part

"Bones?" Dr. Temprence Brennan snapped her head up as the FBI agent walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. She stared at him, momentarily startled. The idea that she was... _with_ Booth was still a shocking concept to her one track mind. "Shower's free." He said, nodding toward it. She swallowed and pulled the sheets farther up, continuing to stare at him. He took a step toward her, hesitant. "You okay?" She shook herself out of her trance and nodded.  
"I-I'm fine." She reached for her clothes and headed toward the bathroom. Booth snuck a quick peck on her cheek and stepped into the kitchen. She shut the door quietly and placed her back against the wall, taking a deep breath. What should she do? Angela would definitely figure out what had happened, and then she would tell Zack and Hodgins, and then _everyone_ would know and-  
 _No._ She chastised herself. There was nothing to hide. Why should she be embarrassed about sleeping with Booth? There was nothing wrong with that. As long as she knew where to draw the line between her personal life and work- and she definitely was an expert at that. Temperance hugged her clothes tight to her.  
 _But still...  
_ She turned on the shower faucet and let the water run over her hands for a minute. She watched entranced as streams carved paths down her fingertips, piling into droplets that fell freely through the air when she breathed. She cupped her hands together, trying to catch the droplets before they could fall. Water pooled in her hands. _This was how my life used to be._ She thought wryly. _Contained. Controlled. Organized. But now..._ She slowly let her hands drop and the water fell through, hitting the bottom of the shower in one big thump.  
Maybe she was overreacting, she thought, as she stepped into the shower. Maybe this wasn't as big a deal as she made it out to be. She's slept with other guys before after all. Micheal and and David and Peter... no, somehow Booth was different. She couldn't place it, she loved all the guys she dated. What made Booth special? She sighed and tipped her head back, allowing the warm water to fall directly onto her face.  
Maybe she'll ask him later.

Booth nearly chocked on his eggs.  
"What makes me _special?"_ He said in disbelief. Bones shrugged.  
"It's a perfectly sound question." Booth wiped his mouth.  
"A sound question." He muttered. "Okay, look. What if- and I know this is going to sound crazy- what if it's because you love me?" Bones shook her head and poured more ketchup over her eggs ("Of course you would be that type of person," Booth had muttered when she asked him to pass the ketchup).  
"I don't think that's it." He sighed. Bones struggled to make herself clear. "I don't mean that I don't love you, I mean I loved Micheal too. And Peter. And David." Booth groaned and put his head in his hands.  
"Just... just stop, Bones." Temperance shut her mouth, uncomfortably aware of how awkward she just made the situation. She shoved in another spoonful of eggs. A few minutes of tension passed before Booth began to speak again.  
"So I got a case for you." Temperance glanced up at him.  
"Yeah?" She asked. He nodded.  
"You know that old building at the independence?"

"The one near the smithsonian?"

"Yeah. Apparently they found multiple bodies there." Temperance shrugged.  
"It's not uncommon for killings or suicides to happen in old buildings. Can't the FBI handle it?" Booth chuckled.

"Get this. All the bodies were encased in cement, and sculpted to make human-like statues." She set her fork down.  
"You should have started with that."

They spent the rest of breakfast discussing the case, until finally Dr. Brennan glanced at the clock. She stood up suddenly.  
"We should go, we're going to be late." Booth nodded and stood up, wiping his mouth. He grabbed his coat from the hook and swung it onto himself. Then, he helped Temperance into her coat.  
"Thanks." She muttered. She reached for the door handle, but Booth stopped her.  
"What?" He leaned in closer and sniffed.  
"Did you use my shampoo?" Temperance flicked her eyes toward the ground.  
"I... didn't bring mine. I hope you don't mind." Booth smirked.  
"Not at all. Then everyone would know you're mine." Temperance looked at him weirdly.  
"You establish male dominance through... shampoo?" Booth took her chin.  
"It's very effective" He said, kissing her.  
They lingered for a moment after the kiss, then Booth jingled his car keys.  
"Come on. I'll drive."

"Look man, all I'm saying is that when I went to sign for the package, she accidentally brushed her hand against mine." Zack nodded.  
"That does seem to be a common form of flirting used by women." Hodgins threw his hands in the air and turned back to his microscope.  
"It's just meant to be."  
"Still fawning over that delivery lady?" Angela remarked from her desk.  
"You know, I think I might have a chance with her." Hodgins said, spinning in his chair to face her. Angela laughed.  
"No way. You're deluding yourself."  
Their conversation was interrupted by the familiar _swish_ of the automatic doors. Booth and Brennan walked in, deep in discussion about a manila envelope Dr. Brennan was holding. They walked up the stairs.  
"I want to be the first person to examine the statues. Anybody else would disturb the evidence. I'll just grab my supplies and then we can leave." Booth nodded. She mulled over the papers. "These are pretty detailed sculptures. The murder would probably be a known artist in that area."  
"Well, lets not jump to conclusions yet. I'd like to see the crime scene first."  
"Funny, I'm the one who usually says that." Brennan remarked, swiping her pass and entering the lab. She looked up from the envelope.  
"I have a new casefhor you guys. Bodies in statues were found at- what?" All three of her employees were staring at her. Angela's mouth was open. Angela grabbed her arm as Temperance and Booth separated.  
"You guys came in together." She hissed, following Temperance to her office. "Did you too... you know..." Brennan sighed. There was no use in hiding it. She nodded. Angela squealed.  
"Oh my god!"

Meanwhile, Booth was over with the guys. He had a smirk on his face, and he held out a hand.  
"Your ten dollars, gentleman." Zack and Hodgins humphed, and reluctantly pulled out a bunch of crumpled bills. They slapped it into his hands.  
"Whatever man." Hodgins groaned.  
They brushed past him angrily, and he smiled, carefully counting out his money.

Another swish of the doors.  
"Excuse me?" A voice called out. Male. Brennan stepped out of her office, still flipping through her papers. "I'm here to see... Dr. Temperance Brennan?"  
"That's me" She said, working her way through the lab. She rounded the corner and saw the strangers face.  
"Do I know you?" The stranger was a slender man, wiry and greasy. His hands trembled with every breath. His eyes were red, whether from crying or drug use, Brennan couldn't tell. He was too far away. He slowly shook his head.  
"N-no." He said, reaching for something in his pocket. "But I know you." Brennan narrowed her eyes, wary of what the man would pull out. The angle at which he reached for the object... A sudden motion and a click, and Temperance found herself staring down the barrel of a .37. She froze and slowly raised her hands, the folder clutched in her right hand.  
"Bones!" Booth came out of the room to her right, pulling out his own gun. "Put the gun down." He said calmly, edging closer to the female scientist. But Brennan saw something in the man's eyes. She knew she wasn't getting out of this one. Angela, Zack and Hodgins peeked around the corner.  
"Oh my god. Temperance." Angela whispered. Zack and Hodgins could only watch speechless.

Booth was getting just as nervous.  
"Put it down! Now!" He shouted. The mans hand was shaking, and he turned his head toward Booth. His pupils were dilated, and his eyes were getting redder by the second as tears slipped from the corner of his eye and trailed down his cheek. He blinked rapidly, as if he were confused, trying to make sense of what exactly what was happening. The corner of his mouth tipped slightly upward. Brennan swallowed, and also turned to look at Booth.  
"Booth." She said, her voice cracking in a plea for help. His narrowed eyes met her open, scared ones. He released a shaky breath. _It's not supposed to go down like this._

Booth always knew that one day he would die. It would probably be sooner than later, given the line of work that he was in. But Temperance is a _scientist._ She's supposed to grow old, retire, settle down somewhere and own 20 cats. She can't die like this. Temperance had seen so much death in her lifetime, she deserved better. It just wasn't fair! It can't happen like-

The papers rustled as they fell, floating gently down like leaves caught in the wind. They skidded everywhere as they neared the ground, displaying gruesome pictures of skeletons and blood. The manila envelope fell faster than the papers, and that created a rather large thump as it hit the ground.

But neither the papers nor the envelope could mask the sound of the gunshot. Or the horrible, piercing shriek that emitted from Angela's mouth. Zack and Hodgins dived underneath their desks and cowered in fear, unsure of what happened. It all happened to quickly, people and shouts and sounds and crashes and colors blurred into one incomprehensible mass of chaos. In his haste, Booth knocked over a small foot table, and dozens of beakers shattered on the ground. But that couldn't mask the sound of the second gunshot from the man's gun, the one that also hit its target. And nothing, not the gunshots from Booth's gun, not the alarm that Hodgins had sounded (for he recovered first), not the banging of the police on the door that had mysteriously locked after the stranger walked in, nothing could mask the sound of her body hitting the ground.  
Angela ran back inside the office, not fully aware of what had just happened. Hodgins and Zack exchanged nervous glances, then peered above their desk at the scene taking place in front of them. The criminal turned and ran, while Booth chased after him, firing the whole way.

And Dr. Temperance Brennan? She was leaning up against the autopsy table, her eyes glazed over, surrounded by a pool of blood and papers.

Dr. Temperance Brennan was left all alone in the puddle of chaos.

Dr. Temperance Brennan had a bullet in her head, and nobody ran to her.

Dr. Temprence Brennan was dead.

 **Hey! Thanks for reading! I'm pretty early into the series (Like, season 1 early) so this is based off of my knowledge from that. I'll update once it hits 1000 views!**


	2. Afterlife

"Hey Bones." The cemetery was peaceful and quiet. The sun was out, and a gentle breeze rustled through the trees, not quite enough to take the edge off the heat. But despite the sun, the heat and his hot, black suit, Seely Booth was still cold. He hasn't been able to feel warmth since the fire from his adrenaline wore off that day. He still cursed himself. What good was he? He was quick and had perfect aim. Forty-nine people he had killed in the military. He improved with every shot, every mission, every success and every failure. But what good were all those years as a sniper if he couldn't use them to protect his partner? _I should have been faster. I should have shot the man before he had the chance to kill Bones. I should have...  
_ "I know that you've never thought anything of speaking to the dead." Temperance had always insisted that the dead never regained conciousness due to the fact that they were... dead. She would have mocked him, accused him, assaulted him with her anthropological analysis of the tradition of speaking to the dead.  
"I know you would think this is foolish, a waste of time." And she would. Booth longed for her voice. He deep breath and continued.

"But I don't know what else to do." His voice cracked. Voicing the words truly threw him at the harsh reality. Bones was dead, and the was nothing he could dead. He felt useless and utterly alone. He felt his eyes start to water, and since no one else was here, he let the tears drip down his face. "I don't know what else to do Bones. I don't think there is anything I _can_ do." He had to stop and compose himself before he completely broke down. It took a few moments, but he wiped his eyes and took another breath. He squatted down, getting close to the headstone. He reached out and softly traced the 'T' in her first name, distracting himself from reality.

Dr. Brennan had been awarded a posthumous medal for all the work she did at the Jeffersonian, which was given to her brother at the funeral service. Bones had achieved so much in her life, doctorates, medals, and she caught a murderer almost every week. If anyone truly deserved an honorific, it was her. And yet, only her name, Temperance Brennan was on the tombstone. Booth shook his head. It didn't seem right, a woman like Dr. Brennan would want to display her success. She deserved it. The dead didn't care about her name, it was the living she would have wanted to impress. The doctorates were proof of her success, proof that she achieved something in her life. Booth already had to stop the maker of her headstone from putting a cross on it. He knew it would not have been what she wanted.  
"What's it like?" He asked softly. "Being dead. Is there a heaven? Were you wrong about the afterlife? Or were you right?" He paused. He tried to imagine Bones arriving at the pearly gates of heaven. How she would try to pick apart everything she saw- 'this can't be real'- until finally she accepted the truth. But what if-  
 _What if she didn't make it to heaven?_  
Booth shook his head and stood up. Enough thoughts of the afterlife. He closed his eyes and began to say a prayer.  
 _Our lord in heaven, take Temperance Brennan into your loving hands-_

"I always liked the name Temperance." A smooth voice rang out across the silent cemetery. Booth, lifted his head and turned around. An older man was walking toward him, carrying a sad smile. Booth watched him approach the grave. "It was very fitting. Probably more than her other name." Booth furrowed his eyebrows. Who was this man?  
"Her... other name?" The man turned to him, his blue eyes locked on Booth's.  
"Joy." Booth took a step back.  
"Who are you?" The man simply smiled and turned back toward the grave.  
"I protect my own. I know who killed her, of course."  
"You mean, Isaiah Blanch?" That was the name of the man who had shoot Bones. He too, had died that day, at Booth's hands.  
"No. Blanch was simply a pawn. There was someone higher up on the food chain that wanted Temperance dead." Booth inhaled sharply.  
"Who?" The man chuckled.  
"That's for you to find out." He knelt down and placed a small object next to the grave. He stood up and patted Booth's shoulder, beginning to walk away.  
"I'll give you 48 hours to arrest him. And then I am going after the son-of-a-bitch that killed my daughter." He let go and began to walk away. Booth blinked, trying to make sense of it all. His daughter... although the man he had just spoke to looked nothing like the man in the photograph. But a little plastic surgery, dyed hair and colored contacts, maybe...  
Booth spun around.  
"Max Keenan?" The man, just now reaching the top of the hill, give a little wave without turning his back, as he continued forward past the horizon.


End file.
